Author Archive: Marcia Strykowski
2023 Picture Books
Hello and Happy New Year! I thought I’d post a quick snapshot of new and upcoming picture books that have caught my attention of late. This first book on my list, hot off the press from Page Street Kids, is super cool. Abby’s determination is an inspiration for people of all ages and in all …
New Picture Books featuring Animal Characters
I requested three brand new books for review and realized in hindsight that all have animals as main characters. I love animal characters. And I love how animals in picture books can live through scary or rough situations while leaving a little bit of emotional distance from the small children enjoying their stories. Besides, don’t …
New Picture Books for 2022!
Time to catch up on some picture books I’ve recently reviewed. Thanks to Candlewick Press for sharing these first three newly released (or nearly released!) books with me for an early sneak peek and in turn, a heads-up for my readers, too. FIRSTS AND LASTS: THE CHANGING SEASONS is written by Leda Schubert and is …
Library Community Read
A group of our local libraries are doing an important community read where a great many people all read the same books on a chosen subject. The first book we read–They Called Us Enemy by George Takei with gorgeous illustrations by Harmony Becker– led to a great book club discussion. There were 15 attendees at …
2022 ALA Youth Media Awards
Everyone’s been talking about the latest American Library Association awards for last year’s children’s books. It’s a great honor for authors and illustrators to show an ALA award sticker on their books. From the announcement date on, sales skyrocket. Here are some of the highlights. Winner of the 2022 Newbery Medal is The Last Cuentista, …
A New Year
I’m fulfilling my New Year’s resolution to post something, ANYTHING, on this blog. It’s been quite a few months now and I miss keeping in touch with you all. What can I say, my mind has been elsewhere. Like many of you, I’m sure, it’s been a couple of years of ups and downs. Thank …
Spring Fling Contest Entry
Rules include finding or making a GIF and then writing a short children’s story to go with it—maximum word count = 150. The crocus picture is from bestanimations.com and the caterpillar is Anardi’s at gifer.com. I combined them (my first homemade gif attempt!) by using giphy.com My entry for the Spring Fling KidLit Contest: STILL …
Creative Walking on Writers’ Rumpus
I’ve got a new post up on the wonderful Writers’ Rumpus blog! You can check it out here: Creative Walking Hope you like it.
Gardening During the COVID-19 Pandemic
National Library Week & Writing News
First off—Happy National Library Week—April 19-25, 2020 Libraries have so much to offer, even from the comfort of your own home. Have you checked your local library’s online offerings? From story-times to downloadable books, movies, magazines, audiobooks, and music, there’s something for everyone. As mentioned in my last post, I’ve had trouble concentrating on my …